Emotional Purity and Courtship: A Few Years Later

“The me of today doesn’t believe I need to use God to justify my choices.”

Man Shares Personal Testimony of How Bill Gothard Used Bible Verses Which Led to the Abuse of Children

HA note: The following is reprinted with permission from Julie Anne Smith’s blog Spiritual Sounding Board. It was originally published on March 26, 2015 and has been slightly modified for HA. Last month, “Dash” commented on an older SSB article, Bill Gothard’s New Program/Ministry: Total Success Power Teams. He used some strong words to describe his experience: I am a survivor of Gothard’s

Pleading for Death: Trista’s Story

HA notes: The author’s name has been changed to ensure anonymity. “Trista” is a pseudonym. Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes/Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies/Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee/In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. I sat between two graves, softly singing this verse over and over. Going

Awkward!:Jeri Lofland’s Story

Jeri Lofland blogs at Heresy in the Heartland. The following was originally published by Jeri on March 25, 2015, and is reprinted with permission. Recently a friend described a situation as “awkward” and I laughed. Not because it wasn’t true, but because I spent decades developing a resistance to awkwardness. It’s not that I don’t still feel it, I just have a

Pills and Popsicles: Mahalath’s Story

HA notes: The author’s name has been changed to ensure anonymity. “Mahalath” is a pseudonym. My mother up and decided around the time of puberty that I had ADD. She’d just bring it up randomly, saying that’s why I wasn’t focusing on my work, getting good grades, etc. There were two problems with this. The first was that she demonized

The Courtship That Wasn’t: Darcy’s Story

“Nothing about my courtship or marriage was supposed to happen.”

Don’t Touch Me — A Reflection on Courtship and Purity: Merab’s Story, Part Three

“I can’t wait to teach my children that sexual experience does not dictate their dignity and value.”

Our Courtship, Part Seven: Engagement and Marriage

“If we could survive courtship together, we think we can survive anything.”

Don’t Touch Me — A Reflection on Courtship and Purity: Merab’s Story, Part Two

“To me, the courtship movement gave men and women alike a ready excuse to not speak the truth.”

Our Courtship, Part Six: Courtship by Committee

“I put the ring on my own finger; not exactly like how I had pictured it when I was a little girl.”